Movie ReviewSeptember 6, 2014 The Identical by Laura Casey It is touting itself as a faith-based film, but The Identical is so hokey, so manipulative, and so contrived that it’s hard to take it seriously. It lacks originality and is so shallow that it is often laughable without meaning to be funny. Written by Howard Klausner, the movie is a conspicuous rip off of Elvis Presley. Yet, no one will acknowledge that--and for good reason--as doing so would invite a lawsuit. Which is why the main character’s name has been changed, and the movie’s original songs, written by Jerry and Yochanon Marcellino, sound nothing like “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” or “Hound Dog.” Indeed, the rockabilly tunes are so undistinguished that I couldn’t recall one note by the end of the film. The movie starts out during the 1930s Depression in Tennessee. Twins are born to the Hemsleys, a couple so impoverished that they only have enough money to care for one of the boys. They decide to give the other son to a minister, Reece Wade (Ray Liotta), and his wife, Louise (Ashley Judd) who can care for him. One can see that the concept was lifted from the fact that Elvis had a twin, Jessie, who died at birth. In this flick, though, the twin doesn’t die; he goes on to provide the plot for the movie. With heavy-handed direction by Dustin Marcellino, the story follows both the son that stays with the Hemsleys, Drexel, and the Wade’s son, named Ryan. As the boys come into manhood, Drexel turns into a rock ‘n roll sensation while Ryan becomes an automobile repair man. Ryan’s preacher father wants Ryan to follow him into the ministry, but Ryan doesn’t believe he’s cut out for the church. Instead, he spends a lot of time trying to find himself. And, as for Drexel, we have no idea how he went from being a poor boy to an iconic rock star. Everyone in town—even his wife—thinks that Ryan looks exactly like Drexel. And since Ryan likes to sing, she persuades him to enter a Drexel impersonation contest. Of course, since he looks like Drexel, swings his hips like Drexel, and sounds like Drexel, he wins the contest. Drexel is in the audience watching Ryan’s imitation, but he isn’t the least bit curious as to why Ryan looks and sounds just like him. And, although, everyone thinks the two look identical, no one--not even Drexel or Ryan--ever considers the possibility that when two men are identical, there’s a very good possibility that they are twins. It’s hard to believe that everyone in this movie is so dense. Blake Rayne, who with delicate cherub lips and a flat-faced resemblance to The King, was an Elvis impersonator before he took to acting on screen. He plays both Ryan and Drexel with such deadpan simplicity that, although he is the star of the film, his performance is overshadowed by Ray Liotta as his father, the pastor (the best performance in the film). At times The Identical is so over-the-top melodramatic and ridiculous that I often found myself laughing in disbelief. This movie was obviously meant to trade on Elvis’s undying popularity. But, if one wants to relive the golden Elvis era, one can rent Elvis flicks, view You Tube for his concerts, or buy CDs of his greatest hits The real thing is so much better than this pitiful half-baked sham of a film.